The 2017 WK-League began on April 14. Games are being played on Fridays and Mondays this season so there have been two rounds already. It looks like we are up to 8 teams this season with the addition of Gyeongju KHNP so it means every team can play in every round this time. Here are the results so far:

Those grounds should be their regular ones - Incheon, who are away the next two rounds, are playing at Namdong Rugby Stadium again. Seoul will most likely play at Hyochang until the summer when if previous seasons are anything to go by, they'll move to the Jamsil practice pitch which has floodlights good enough for evening kick-offs.

Martyrs Forever wrote:This is the only league you can follow now! You work all weekend....and only watc games at Hyochang! I might be able to get to some games in the summer hols.

It doesn't get better than Hyochang on a late Spring Monday afternoon, Cass in hand and humming a tune I like to call "Oh, I wish I was watching the Martyrs". Last season I spent a lot of time at the R-League but this year it seems all of the local teams are playing their "home" games either at their training grounds or in the middle of nowhere. Or both.

I finally made it to a game this past Monday, Seoul City Hall v Gumi Sportstoto and oh my word, the pre-game fanfare. They had cheerleaders, mini-fireworks, speeches, signed balls etc all presided over once again this season by the Samsung Thunders and kt wiz announcer. All at 4pm in the afternoon although by the time the preliminaries were done with it didn't kick off until closer to 4:10. Actually I caught a Gumi signed ball...I think everybody caught a Gumi signed ball.

As for the game, Gumi took the lead in the 2nd minute after a Seoul defender put through her own net with a header. Seoul bounced back to score three in the fifteen minutes before half time. In the 2nd half, the only goal was Gumi pulling one back through...a Seoul defender putting through her own net with a header. Final score Seoul 3-2 Gumi.

What kind of cheerleaders did they have? Same types that they have at the baseball?

Are there lots of girls playing football in school these days in Korea? That's a large part of the market for the top teams in Germany these days. I wouldn't have thought KBO-style cheerleaders were the way to attract them. Maybe I'm wrong. K-Pop suggests I'm wrong.

Actually they didn't reappear for this Monday's game (Seoul 2-2 Hwacheon KSPO - good entertainment once more) so it may just have been a one-off thing for the first home game of the season when the Ajosshis-In-Charge were present. The only half-time entertainment this week was the cat and mouse game between some sojued-up ajosshi (definitely not in charge) who had a bag of rubbish he kept emptying everywhere, and the stadium caretaker who was trying to get it off him.

Pretty much all the women's games I've been to have been reasonably well-attended - as in a couple of hundred anyway. Not sure they care about marketing it as they don't charge admission at any of the stadiums. Always surprised at Hyochang how many are supporting the away team; again this week, it was the visitors who were tossing out the "sign balls" and the clapper-cards before the game. Maybe because most of the companies who own the teams are based in Seoul, maybe not. A lot of schoolkids as well, mainly girls who most likely play football.

Monday's results:

Gyeongju 0-1 SuwonBoeun 2-3 IncheonSeoul 2-2 HwacheonGumi 1-2 Icheon

I believe Otto is correct about Suwon - it is still the Facilities Management company, not the City Hall. No games this Friday, the next round is on Monday May 22.